Storms kill 11 in southwest China's Yunnan province

Beijing, July 3 : Storms in southwest China's Yunnan province have killed 11 people, adding to a trail of havoc from heavy rains lashing parts of the country, state media reported today.

In Zhaotong in Yunnan, thousands of villagers have been hit by heavy rains, hail storms, flash floods and landslides since June 20, and troops were called in to rescue and search for survivors, the Xinhua news agency reported.

As well as the 11 dead, nine residents were seriously injured and six were still missing yesterday, Xinhua said.

The deaths in Yunnan are the latest from a string of local but devastating storms and flash floods across south and southwest China that have killed about 200 people since late May.

A week ago, flash floods killed 18 with another 18 missing in the central province of Hunan.

Storms in the southwestern province of Sichuan last week unleashed floods and mudslides which killed 14, the China Daily reported today.

Chinese meteorological authorities have warned people to expect more heavy storms in coming days, the daily said.

Reuters